Lighting a new lamp: Reading between the lines of Mohan Bhagwat's RSS address
The meeting was the message. Organised like the discourses of Swami Chinmayananda — a session every evening on successive days — Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat’s lectures and interaction in New Delhi this past week will be seen to mark a turning point in the almost century-old history of the organisation.
The venue, the format, the audience and the outreach were all symbolic of a shift. Held in an auditorium that has come to symbolise the Indian State, in the heart of the nation’s political nerve centre, packed to capacity and brimming over, the lecture-interaction format was aimed to impress, to convince and to win over.
However, it was clearly more than that.
Bhagwat’s outreach signaled a fundamental shift in the RSS as it prepares to mark its centenary and emerge as India’s most authentic voice. Bhagwat’s repeated affirmation of the Constitution — that the RSS would only function within the parameters defined by a Constitution that represented “the national consensus” — was as important a statement as his declaration that if one was not comfortable with the phrase “Hindutva”, one could replace it with “Bharatiyata”.
The Indian Constitution, drafted by a wide cross-section of wise and patriotic national leaders, begins with the statement, “India, that is Bharat..” Indian-ness is nothing but Bharatiyata. But the word “India” derives from the same word from which the word “Hindu” was derived. The beliefs and practices that have come to be identified as “Hindu” are nothing more than what constitutes the culture and civilisation of this ancient land. These do not constitute an “ism” but they constitute a “way of being”. Hence, the English word “Hinduism” is a misnomer, said Bhagwat. The better term to describe the culture and belief system of this sub-continent is Hindutva — but he had no problem if some preferred to use the term “Bharatiyata” to describe the “idea of India”. After all, the Constitution does say “India, that is Bharat...”.
And what is Bhagwat’s “idea of India”?
In repeatedly answering that question, Bhagwat made the most radical departure from the past, aimed at mainstreaming the RSS. The "idea of India", of Bharatiyata, is nothing but “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the whole world is one family — based on the principle of “unity in diversity”. Muslims are not a "minority" — simply those Indians whose object of worship is different. The Hindu has no problem with that. After all, they too worship different Gods and often contest each other’s belief system.
This expansive and liberal interpretation of the RSS’s core ideology was reflected in Bhagwat’s views on a wide range of issues — the education system, status of teachers in society, population dynamics and the demographic transition, Constitutional reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, uniform civil code, swadeshi economics and so on. On each of these issues, there was a subtle distancing from past orthodoxy. In each instance, that distancing was justified on the grounds that as society changes, so should the thinking of an organisation whose only purpose is social reform and societal development.
More importantly, the point was repeatedly made that change in society cannot be imposed from above, not by the government, nor any other institution. Change must come from within society. With people accepting new ways of thinking. This requires sustained effort. That is what social reform movements have sought to do through history.
On the issue of "swadeshi economics", Bhagwat was clear that while Indians must be encouraged to buy what is made in India, there is no option but to import what is not available domestically. This did not rule out foreign investors coming and making in India what Indians were not yet capable of.
It is an open-ended statement that can defend all existing policy on foreign trade and investment. “Swadeshi does not mean closing all doors”, said Bhagwat, it means doing what we can to our best and being open to trade with the world. India has always been a trading society.
Was Bhagwat speaking for himself — or has he been able to take his organisation along with him? The question was asked. He was merely stating, he said, the consensual view of the organisation as discussed and arrived at internally. Politically, the RSS had no preferences and would be willing to work with anyone willing to work with it.
However, it was clear at the end of the three days that Bhagwat and the present RSS leadership is ahead of its core constituency — this was testified to by audience applause. The more liberal statements of Bhagwat did not elicit the same thundering applause that his affirmation of support for the construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya did.
But that is what progressive leadership is about. It has to be steps ahead of the followers.
Several explanations can be offered for Bhagwat’s innovative outreach. The one that strikes me as most germane is a realisation on the part of the RSS leadership that a national effort should be made once more to battle various social and political fissiparous tendencies and strengthen the centrifugal ones that have kept this nation united.
RSS critics have quoted Bhagwat’s predecessors to question the earnestness of his intervention. However, the fact is that almost every political formation in India has had to abandon its first principles, its original raison d’etre, to be able to widen its social support base. The Communist Parties abandoned their original views on class struggle as they joined the national parliamentary mainstream. So did social organisations like the Dravidian movement, which gave up its demand for a global Tamil homeland outside of India. From the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), various political parties have changed their views responding to the demands of society and time.
While the RSS is not a political organisation, it has also been required to adapt its views in accordance with the lessons it has learnt from its activities and actions.
“Darkness does not go away” Bhagwat reminded his audience, “by simply pushing it out. It goes away when a lamp is lit.”
Clearly, Bhagwat has lit a lamp, seeking to bring the RSS into the national mainstream.